Saturday, August 1, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. CT
We live with an assumption that is rarely examined: that we are small beings moving within a vast universe, trying to understand it and find our place inside it. The Upanishads overturn this completely. We do not live in the universe. The universe lives inside us.
The Mandukya Upanishad, one of the most concise and penetrating texts of the Vedic tradition, approaches this not as theory, but through direct experience. It examines the three familiar states of life: waking, dream, and deep sleep. In each, a different world appears, is lived in, and disappears. What remains constant across all three becomes the doorway for inquiry.
This session invites clear, immediate reflection. What is it that knows these changing states? Is the Self located within the universe, or is the universe appearing within awareness? If the latter is so, then awareness is not small or incidental, but foundational, holding within it the very field in which all experience arises.
Session Includes
- Guided teaching based on the Mandukya Upanishad
• Chanting of select original Upanishadic verses
• Exposition of key teachings in a traditional Vedic style
• Experiential meditation on the four states of consciousness
• Live question and response
What participants will walk away with
- A clearer understanding of the four states of consciousness as presented in the Mandukya Upanishad
• A shift in perspective: from feeling located inside the universe to recognizing awareness as primary
• Deeper insight into the nature of the Self beyond waking, dream, and deep sleep
• A simple contemplative approach that may be returned to in daily life
• Greater clarity around spiritual questions concerning consciousness, identity, and reality
• A sense of inner steadiness not dependent on changing experiences
No prior background is required.
Member Rate: $35 • Standard Rate: $40
Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for four weeks following the conclusion of the program.
Acharya Shunya is a Vedic teacher and lineage holder from Ayodhya, India, and the author of Sovereign SelfSovereign Self. Rooted in Advaita Vedanta, her work brings classical Vedic wisdom into contemporary life with clarity and depth. Based in California, she is the founder of Vedika Global, a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to making these teachings widely accessible. She leads the Vedic Study Circle, a free global platform offering study in Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, and Upasana Yoga, guiding seekers toward a direct and lived understanding of the nondual Self.
Program Format
This is a live, interactive online program that will also be recorded. Registrants will receive on-demand access to recording(s) that can be viewed for four weeks following the conclusion of the program.
Join online via a Zoom link that will be emailed during the week before the program.
Please download Zoom for free at zoom.us/download and test your connection at zoom.us/test. For further information, check out www.theosophical.org/FAQ or email webinars@theosophical.org.